CSU's record-breaking year for fundraising includes $17.7 million in donations for a proposed on-campus stadium, university officials said Thursday.

CSU raised $143.3 million during the 2013-14 school year from an all-time high of 33,716 donors supporting university goals ranging from enhancing veterinary medicine and increasing access to student financial aid to winning on the football field.

As of June 30, CSU had raised $24.2 million to go toward the stadium project, said Brett Anderson, vice president of advancement.

CSU also has a "significant number" of verbal commitments from people who want to give money, Anderson said, noting those will "take time to work through the process." Some may be one-time payments, stocks or transfer of securities, he said.

To gain approval to build the on-campus stadium, $110 million must be raised in private donations — half of what athletics is required to cover of the $254 million project. If $110 million isn't raised by the October 2014 deadline, CSU president Tony Frank can go to the Board of Governors and ask for an extension if fundraising is showing significant progress.

Critics have said efforts to raise money for the stadium project would make it more difficult — if not impossible — for CSU to raise money for academics. Anderson, though, said the stadium has "been a conversation starter."

"Those that are passionate about academics can come to the table and say, 'Hey, I'm voting with my money, and I'm putting it here,' " he said.

Academic colleges represented four out of five programs/areas that received the most money. The highest among them was the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science, which received $42.6 million.

"It truly makes a tremendous difference," Anderson said of money that will fund programs across campus, pay for building projects, support faculty and fund community outreach. About $16 million in "new money" will go to scholarships — on top of thousands the university already gives out each year.

The $143.3 million is up $30.8 million from last year and nearly 50 percent more than the $97.1 million CSU received in annual state funding.

Anderson said CSU has made a more concerted effort to connect with alumni in recent years.

He said alumni recognize the importance of private dollars in the current higher education climate. Former Rams also are excited to see CSU on the national stage more than in the past, he said.

While there were five gifts of $5 million or more that contributed to the overall total, roughly 22,000 people gave between $1 and $100.